Skip to Content
English Club : This Week In History : Archive : The Berlin Wall Falls

This Week In History
www.englishclub.com/this-week-in-history
 Week #45 (9 November 1989)
This Week in History

The Berlin Wall Falls

For the first time since it was built in 1961, free movement is allowed through the Berlin Wall.


Download MP3

In 1989, people were allowed to move freely through checkpoints in the Berlin Wall for the first time since it was built in 1961. The wall was intended to prevent the movement of people between communist East Berlin and capitalist West Berlin. Its subsequent destruction became a powerful symbol of the end of the "Cold War".

Wordchecker
checkpoint (noun): place where a person's identity and papers are checked by the authorities
intend (verb): have in mind; plan
communist (adjective): in accordance with the idea of collective, not private, ownership
capitalist (adjective): operating according to the idea of private ownership
subsequent (adjective): coming next in time; following
destruction (noun): the breaking down of something that was previously built

Quick Quiz:

The Berlin Wall was built in order to
  1. stop communism from spreading into Western Europe
  2. help governments to control people's movements
  3. provide jobs for people who were unemployed
Since 1989, people have been able to
  1. open new checkpoints in the Berlin Wall
  2. visit friends in communist East Berlin
  3. move freely throughout Berlin
The phrase "The Cold War" refers to the global power struggle from 1945 to 1990 between a group of communist countries led by the USSR and a group of
  1. capitalist countries led by the USA
  2. developing countries led by China
  3. democratic countries led by the UN